Sunday, July 19, 2009

The continuing saga of the June 2009 adventure when our kids and their families landed here all at the same time!

In 2008 when we had our get-together in California, we really enjoyed going bowling. (This is a photograph from back then.) Barbie, Betsey and Kyle are in front, with Helena, Doug and Peter in back.So this year we decided to go bowling again. Again it was great fun. It was even more fun for me because I actually bowled this time too. I just did it in my own way. If I got too tired I had Peter finish out the frame for me. OK so our combined efforts never did reach 100, but we had a blast. A major regret I have is that I didn't take my camera. Fortunately Karen did, and was able to capture an amazing event:Her comment was: We took a couple of videos, but this was an extremely lucky one that got the push, the strike, then Elizabeth's reaction "That's nice, let's go get another ball"

YOUNG'S JERSEY DAIRY

It's tradition that whenever the family gets together we just have to make an excursion to Young's for some of their luscious ice cream, and a romp through the grounds. Here's Little Miss Hazel in her sun bonnet.

Part of the tradition is feeding the goats…Karen, Elizabeth and PeterAnd touring the barn. I'm not sure what Lizbeth and Kate were looking at here, it may have been geese, but they obviously had the same reaction. I thought this was hilarious. (Helena has a cute follow-up picture of this event on her blog.) Kirsten had the best time on this tractor…

And on these big tires. She sat their and kicked her feet with joy. Unfortunately the sun was in her eyes, so it was hard to keep smiling. Please click here for Helena's extensive coverage of the rest of our Young's excursion if you haven't all ready seen it. She got some really cute shots. For some reason I lost track of Barb, Kyle and Hazel while we were out there, so I'm hoping that some time they will be able to to post some pictures that they took that day also.

I also really liked these hanging baskets.Week Three…

After everyone else left, Helena's family stayed for another week. Another family tradition that happens when possible is hiking in nearby John Bryan State Park. Jim, Betsey and Kirsten went along with Helena's family. (Thank you, Jim, for taking all these pictures.) I stayed home and took a nap. Grandmas are good at that.

The shade was nice and cool for Helena, Andy and Kate.

Water is always fun, especially when you're 4 1/2 years old.

At Last--THE CAVE

The next stop was Clifton Gorge. They didn't go down into the gorge, but went on a nice hiking trail that is part boardwalk alongside part of the top. Here are Betsey, Kirsten, Kate, Doug with Andy, and Helena.

LOCKS OF LOVE

Helena and Betsey both got haircuts that week, from their dad. (Brave girls.) They had been growing their hair long enough so they could donate it to Locks of Love to be made into wigs for children with cancer. (I just now read that Locks of Love is actually a scam because they sell much of the hair they get to professional wig makers. So is it a scam or isn't it?)

THE ENGINEER got out the ruler so the hair would be at least 10 inches in length. Betsey happened to be wearing a striped shirt when Jim cut her hair. The horizontal stripes made straight cutting so much easier, that Helena borrowed the shirt when it was her turn. So is this Helena or is it Betsey? Any guesses?If you guessed Helena, you were right!!

Well that's all for part 2 of our Family Frolic. Please scroll down for part 1. (Parts 3 and 4 will be coming soon.)

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Much is happening in my life right now, and I'm getting farther and farther behind in blogging. There is much to share. I had hopes of making a really long post about the wonderful visit we had when all the kids came, but I realized that I'm going to have to break it down into several smaller ones.

In June we had our children and their families visit--all at the same time. We were blessed to have three new babies in the family in 2008 and this was the first opportunity to get them all together. Yes it was a bit hectic with 14 people and one little yellow dog in the house, but it was great fun. Here we are in our back yard…Front Row starting at left is Helena's family: Doug holding 4 1/2-year old Kate, Helena with Andy age 5 1/2 months. Then Betsey with Angie. (At 15, Angie is definitely our oldest "grand daughter." )

This pose was very typical of him while he was here. He definitely found his foot. :-)

Barbie, Kyle and Hazel came a week early.While here they (mostly Kyle) landscaped around our swing house, and around the deck. Our yard looks fabulous. (More about that in a later post.)Hazel enjoyed getting acquainted with Mollie.

Hazel was sitting up well by herself while they were here.She was just starting to get up on her hands and knees. (After they were home a week or so she started crawling all over the house.)My heart took some pictures that, unfortunately, I didn't get with the camera. Much of the time I so enjoyed watching the babies interact, that I didn't think to snap photos of them.

Something I could have like to photograph involves a "Bouncy, Bouncy Baby" toy like the one shown below. I copied this picture of a several-months-younger Hazel from Barbie's Blog just to show this toy. Hazel loved to stand while they were here, but couldn't yet do it alone, so a toy like this was perfect for her. We were able to find a used one like this at Once Upon a Child. I have a vivid memory of Hazel standing in the bouncer grinning and bouncing up and down as Elizabeth walked up and handed her a toy. It was just SO sweet. Something else very sweet, and very unusual happened during that first week that Barb and Kyle were here. Jim spent some time crawling around under the deck wiring it for electricity. The picture below shows that he got a little bit dirty!

Unfortunately we did not get any pictures of the extraordinary thing that happened later on. Jim had taken the lattice off the bottom of the deck in several places so he could work under there. The picture below shows what the lattice looks like when it's on, and it also shows part of the landscaping that Kyle did which Barbie helped design.Well, that particular evening, when the lattice was off near the area shown above, Kyle went out as it was getting dark, and discovered three tiny baby bunnies sitting there just under the edge of the deck. Betsey said their eyes had probably opened that day, and they didn't know enough to be afraid of people. Kyle sat down in the grass and held out his hand, and one by one they came over to him. Soon he was holding all three. They were snug in his lap. It was a sweet, precious thing. Kyle said that animals usually do respond well to him, and these sure did. For some reason we didn't get any pictures of the bunnies, but the picture below shows Hazel and Kirsten sitting close by. They obviously were not as impressed as I was. :-)

After Kyle put the bunnies back, Jim put the lattice back up to give them some protection from neighborhood cats during the night. On closer inspection we could see where several of the lattice holes had been chewed larger, probably to make a more comfortable entrance for momma rabbit. The bunnies were still under there the next day, but by the following day they were gone.

FUN and GAMES at HOME

For the most part the weather was really nice, so we were able to play outside a lot. Here are Hazel and Barbie in the back yard. I copied this from Helena's blog. As she said, aren't they cute?

And here are Hazel (7 1/2 mo.) and cousin Andy (5 1/5 mo).

We got a sandbox for the little ones. It had some very fine sandbox sand that was super fun to mold. Elizabeth (17 1/2 mo.) and Kate (age 4 1/2) enjoyed it a lot.

Helena and Doug thought it was pretty cool too.We also set up a wading pool. Actually the weather was a bit cool, but they did get in it a couple of times. I couldn't resist copying this picture of Elizabeth off of Helena's blog.We also bought a couple of balls for them to play with. It turned out that Elizabeth is in a stage where she absolutely loves balls. Needless to say, she had a ball. (groan.)

The swing house proved to be a great place for various groups of people to gather and visit. Here are Kate and Andy with their Aunt Barbie.

And on the other side, Hazel with her daddy Kyle, and grandma.

When everyone was inside we had wall-to-wall babies.

Actually we had wall-to-wall people and um, wall to wall chaos. Here the family is making felt animals for an ABC game for Lizbeth. Helena has more information about it. Click Here.Because the babies required so much care, we just didn't get around to playing very many games, or singing. We had some family walks in the evening. We did play with the musical pipe chimes once and we did have one game of Apples to Apples. That's what the group is doing here.Something Peter said was SO funny that Betsey just couldn't stop laughing.That's all for now Folks. More coming soon.

OUR PROGENY

HELENA and DOUG

They Taught English in Korea for 9 Months

And then went to school in Newfoundland. They also took in many of the sites in the area.

While in Newfoundland, Helena started doing pencil drawings

And painting murals

Several years after moving to Washington state, Kate arrived on the scene.

Katherine Elizabeth, born Dec. 2004, was blessed 6 days later

The Jerusalem Mural

Helena's Family, June 2005, Kate is 6 months old

Kate, age 3. The Littlest Sunbeam

Kate--Age 3 1/2

12th Anniversary, Sept. 2008

Baby Bump, Week 38+

22 December 2008

Andy showed up on Kate's 4th birthday!

KATE and ANDY

Sweet

The Whole Family

February 2009

ANDY AT 8 WEEKS

July 2009

Andy age 6 months, Kate is 4 1/2

Kate the Artist

Foam Gator

Andy at 23 months

Isn't He Cute?

Kate in the Snow

November 2010-almost 6

PETER and KAREN

Salt Lake Temple, March 2005

Mother's Day 2006

And Introducing…

Elizabeth Anne, January 2008. She really does have red hair!

Blessing Day

Age 1 month

May 2008

Elizabeth is about 3 1/2 months old

Elizabeth the Princess

Age 5 Months

Elizabeth Age 9 Months

Her Mama's Glasses!

Karen has quite a knack for costuming for Halloween and other occasions

She fashioned this pumpkin hat for Elizabeth

Click on the picture for a link to the directions

Christmas 2008, Elizabeth age 11 Months

Their 2008 Christmas Card

And Here She Is!! Bridget Ellen Ahlstrom

May 2010, 7 lbs 9.6 oz, 19 1/2"

Bridget 5 mo., Lizbeth 2 3/4, Oct. 2010

Hard to get everyone looking at the camera!

BETSEY AND ANGIE-2006

Barbie and Kyle

December 2005

Bountiful, Utah, Temple

Barbie and Kyle both enjoy quilting. Here is Barb at Kyle's parents' house in early October 2008,

showing the Sunbonnet Sue quilt she made for their soon-to-be-arriving baby girl.

The Finished Product

BEST OF SHOW!!

Kyle is cutting triangles for a fractal geometry quilt he made

And in October of 2008, Hazel Christine Arrived

Hazel at Thanksgiving

Barbie's Family, Nov. 2008

Hazel is about 6 weeks old

Blessing Day--Age 7 Weeks

Kyle's Latest Quilt Project is patterned after the railing on our deck

Kyle calls it "Poppie's Pinwheels"

Hazel

Age 3 1/2 months

Hazel at 7 1/2 months

Here she is again, a few days later.

On the way home from Ohio. June 2009

One Year Old Hazel

Yummy PIckle

Hazel Almost Two

Beautiful Back Yard

A Random Collection of Favorite Quotes and Scriptures

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checked by failure...than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat. ~Theodore Roosevelt (from Richard Rieben)

It's much easier to act your way into a new way of thinking than it is to think your way into a new way of acting. --Dr. Oliver Sacks (Author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat, and Other Clinical Tales.)

Doing the best you can in this moment puts you in the very best place for the next moment. --Readers' Digest

Success comes as a result of preparing oneself for inspiration, and then being willing to pay attention to it and do what it says. --Leslie Householder. (The Jackrabbit Factor, www.ThoughtsAlive.com)

"If things are tough, remember that every flower that ever bloomed had to go through a whole lot of dirt to get there."--Barbara Johnson, author. (Guideposts, July 2009, p. 12)

You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. --Wayne Gretzky

"There are people who insist that we're made of bone and flesh and muscle but I say instead that we're made of memories. Cherish them but don't live in them…or they'll destroy all the bridges to your future." Dorothy Gilman, Incident at Badamya, p. 195.

"…You've reminded me of something a doctor once told me when my children were small and given to collecting splinters and bits of glass in their knees that needed digging out.…He said, 'Never bleed for the patient. Let him do the bleeding. You just get the job done." Emily Pollifax in Mrs. Pollifax and the Lion Killer, page 51, by Dorothy Gilman

"Use what talent you possess. The woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best." Henry Van Dyke

"Faith is not knowing what the future holds,but knowing who holds the future." (Author unknown)

"No matter what the past has been, your future is spotless." (Heard on the radio.)

"Give to the world the best you have and the best will come back to you." (Copied from Jill Pierce's blog. March 4, 2009.)

"Living is a science based on definite laws. If you do not cooperate with its laws, life can go badly. When you learn those laws, and live within them, your life becomes wonderful…" (Norman Vincent Peale "Never Let Mistakes Hold You Back," PLUS Mag. July/Aug. 1996)

"My son, forget not my law, but let thine heart keep my commandments: for length of days and long life, and peace shall they add to thee." (Prov. 3: 1&2)

We stay stuck if we are not willing to abide a higher law… D&C 88:32…"They shall return again to their own place to enjoy that which they are willing to receive, because they were not willing to enjoy that which they might have received."We hold some people hostage who God long ago has forgiven." (Neal A. Maxwell)

"Prayers that are not asked are not answered. Father in Heaven would have us ask about the little things in life, to get special help for little things. Little problems solved never become big problems…" (Joann Hibbert Hamilton)

"When you pray too little, you act too soon." (Dr. Howard Hendricks)

“If you want to talk to God, pray. If you want God to talk to you, read your scriptures.” (John Bytheway)

"…Without life's challenges, we won't see God's grace at work. We won't see the unfolding of miracles, or God's transforming power." (Diane Noble, Through the Fire, p. 145)

"To fully thrive, we must not only eliminate the stressors but also actively seek joyful, loving fulfilling lives that stimulate growth processes." (Bruce Lipton, Biology of Belief, p. 147)

"What God is doing 'in' you is much greater than what he is doing 'to' you. (Heard on the radio.)

"The best way to find yourself is in the service to others." - Mahatma Gandhi.

"…Take [your] eyes off the threatening circumstances and look to God instead." Merlin Carothers, Power in Praise, p. 13

"It's a lot more fun to expect the best than to fear the worst." Philip Humbert

"I do not know the master plan, but it's comforting to know the Master has planned it, and I'm included." Diane Nobel, Through the Fire, p. 29. (Mystery and the Minister's Wife series, vol. 1)

"Most of us don't ever touch the power of God until we have our own power outage. God has to slam on the brakes on our own self-performance to prove to us that He has a better way…" Dr. David Jeremiah, Turning Point (radio), June 5, 1997

"Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records." William Arthur Ward

The Lord gives a little to his humble followers today, and if they improve upon it, tomorrow he will give them a little more, and the next a little more. He does not add to that which they do not improve upon (Brigham Young)

Starve the problems, but feed the opportunities. (Gordon B. Hinckley said at Barbie's graduation from BYU, April 2004)

May you be safeMay you be happyMay you be healthyMay you live with ease(From Happy For No Reason, by Marci Shimoff.)

Happy is he that condemneth not himself. (Romans 14:22)

One of Satan's tools is to influence a person by giving him an over-active conscience. This is one of the main causes of mental illness. (Dr. James Dobson, Focus on the Family, July 2000)

For with God nothing shall be impossible. (Luke 1:37)

The way to prepare for an unknown future is to reflect upon God's blessings in the past. --Dr. David Jeremiah

Never doubt in the dark what God has told you in the light. --Heard on the radio.

When the emotional and spiritual heart heal, the physical often follows.Dr. Mehmet Oz, Healing from the Heart

And inasmuch as ye are humble and faithful and call upon my name, behold, I will give you the victory.(D&C 104:82)

No one ever plowed a field by turning it over in his mind. (From a 1998 desk calendar.)

When you have what it takes to weather even the worst storm, you will always come back bright and beautiful. You wait and see. --Wendy Parker

Perhaps I can't forget, but I can choose to not remember. (Heard on the radio.)

Forgiveness means to write it off. Let it go. Tear up the account. It is to render the account cancelled (Cloud & Townsend, Boundaries.)

Freedom and liberty are precious gifts that come to us when we are obedient to the laws of God and the whisperings of the Spirit. James E. Faust (LDS General Conference, Oct. 1999)

People with the greatest desire have the greatest energy. --Earl Nightingale

Learn of me and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my spirit, and you shall have peace in me. D&C 19:23

Give thanks always and for everything. It will simplify your life. --Elisabeth Elliot

By small and simple things are great things brought to pass. Alma 37:6

But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage. Mosiah 7:33 (Book of Mormon)

About Me

I met and married my husband Jim at the University of Illinois. The following year we joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while at Vandenberg
AFB, California. Doctors said we would never have any children, so we adopted
one and then had 4 more. HA! Now we have been married 42 years and have 5
wonderful, grown children, three adorable granddaughters, and one grandson. We also have one funny little yellow dog, and two cats. We have learned much and experienced much, and are extremely grateful. I am richly Blessed, and Life Is FUN! I learned how to Blog in Dec. 2007, and I'm having a blast! Onward and Upward!